HARARE – The government this week ordered all civil servants to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as authorities try to force citizens to get vaccinated in the fight against the spread of the third-wave Delta variant in the country.
The government has further ordered only 10% of civil servants to report for work while the rest, especially from outside the capital, continue to work from home in a bid to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The head of the public commission, Jonathan Wutawunashe, said in a memo to government agencies that all public servants are considered frontline workers and should therefore get vaccinated.
“All department heads are instructed to ensure that all officials in their area of responsibility are vaccinated,” Wutawunashe said.
The number of officials reported in this case is around 250,000.
Statistics from the country’s health ministry show that more than 1.1 million people have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Places like Victoria Falls would have been granted herd immunity, at least according to government reports.
Zimbabwe has recorded 91,120 infections, a quarter of them since late June, and 2,809 deaths, with around 59,627 recoveries so far.
After initial hesitation, more Zimbabweans are getting vaccinated against Covid-19, with the government promising to import more vaccines from China.
Wutawunashe said only health workers and those providing essential government services would be allowed access to their offices while Zimbabwe was under a lockdown that includes a morning-to-night curfew, reduced working hours and a prohibition of intercity travel.
